Listing Visually

It is already December, and crunch time is coming up. I do have a lot of time on my hands, and need to manage it appropriately. Prioritizing my biggest tasks and listing the other things I need to do helps me since I am a VISUAL learner, so I tried the Things-To-Do strategy.The courses I used this in were Writing 105, CLS 105, PHI 192, EAR 105, HIS 101, and my life!; so basically, everything. I knew that I had a lost of assignments coming up to complete on my homework notes, so I decided to organize them a bit. I listed the assignments with the biggest priority, and then the other things I need to get done. My writing paper is a huge priority, along with getting the tech assignment done since that needs to be done by Sunday.

This strategy was pretty fun. It is tough seeing all of the task

s you need to get done. Instead of using my regular homework notes, I made it a bit different. I prioritized when I needed to do, and I think this is helping already since I am getting my tech assignm

ent done! I would recommend this to anyone with a lot on their plate.

Time Management

For my last tech I thought about what has really helped me the most and how my habits have changed throughout the semester. A big problem I had in the beginning of the semester was Time Management and Procrastination. By looking at Study Environments and Schedule a Day at a Time in Procrastination.

Having a solid study environment is key to staying on task and arriving at a great result. I find that when I do work in my dorm room it is near impossible to finish a project or assignment in a reasonable time span. I can find anything to procrastinate with and end up wasting too much valuable time. For Design History I had an essay assigned that I kept putting off. I decided that I needed a new location to change my perspective and be able to concentrate. I visited the 3rd floor of the library, when I usually go to the 2nd. There was a huge difference in how efficiently I was able to finish my paper and found that the 3rd floor is a great new study location.

I then made a to do list for the week to see what I needed to accomplish in a realistic way. Because I am a visual learner, this was a great way for me to see all that I need to get done and stay on task. Instead of crossing out each task, i circled it so I could still see what I had written. I was able to accomplish almost all that I needed to and what I did not get done is not due until next week. I used this not only for Design History, CLS, 2D, 3D, and writing, but also other activities such as working out. I feel confident that I will continue this on a daily basis along with other anti-procrastination strategies I have become accustom to using such as the D's Due and Do organizer.

Management

For the last blog, I wanted to write about something I think I have improved in from CLS. I really feel that I have improved a lot in managing my time. I used to be terrible with time and could never plan ahead when to do each of my assignments. I never used a planner and always relied on my memory.

I first used the THINGS-TO-DO list strategy. I made a list of all the things I need to get done! I then made a list of the things that are my priorities. These are the assignments I am going to do first. I did this for CLS, WRITING, HEBERW, and HUMAN SEXUALITY. I liked this strategy but decided it wasn't enough to help me manage my time.

I tried using a WEEKLY MANAGER. This allowed me to combine a weekly calendar and my to do list. I wrote down the different assignments I have to do for that week and on the calendar I wrote when they're due and when I am going to do them. I used this strategy for COLLEGE LEARNING STRATEGIES, HEBREW, WRITING, AND HUMAN SEXUALITY. This was a very helpful strategy because I am a visual learner and was able to see all of my assignments out in front of me. I saw what my things to do were and when I was going to do them.

Stress Management

Dealing with stress management is an ongoing struggle but there are several ways to cope with your stress. I've learned what really stresses me out through the Stress Diagram and five minute escape.

When looking at my stress diagram, it was clear to see that school work is my main stressor. It consumes most of my time and while at school is my priority during the days. Because I am an art student I am in long studio classes during the day and use breaks to do other work I need to complete. It can be challenging to juggle but handling my stress and realizing that everything that needs to get done, will is an important thought I try to maintain.

This visual chart is a great way for me to realize my priorities and organize my thoughts.

The 5 minute escape was another strategy that I tried this week. While preparing to go home I realized how much I still had to complete. The stress and anxiety towards finishing so many things to make a deadline made this week hectic yet exciting to know that I would soon get a week off. After getting out a long studio class I used the 5 minute escape in order to clear my head from what I had just accomplished and then pursue the next thing on my "to-do list". It was extremely helpful to utilize my breathing in order to calm myself down when I felt that I had too much to do in too little time. I also tried this technique before going to bed in order to relax myself and have a good night's sleep.

Overall, being able to focus on stress management this week was great because it is something i find myself fighting with and had a lot of stress to deal with before the long week.

Managing Stress

Although college is hyped up to be the most fun four years of your life, which it is, the workload is a big stress to get through, especially when finals are coming up. So to try to relieve some of the stress I am experiencing, I tried a couple of techniques I learned about in CLS 105.

The two techniques that I tried are the Stress Diagram, and the Five-minute Escape. The Stress Diagram was not for specifically any classes, but for almost everything, and other stresses I am going through. Since I am a Visual learner, this was pretty helpful. I started out by listing the sources of my stress that I am experiencing, rather than letting it sit in the back of my head. After I wrote them, I made a Visual chart to see how

much each thing is really affecting me. I knew this already, but getting into Whitman is easily my biggest stress. After that came finals and essays, and then my readings after that. Staying fit was a bit off topic from the others, but it is a big concern for me as well. This stress diagram was helpful, but a bit counteractive as well. Listing them initially made me stressed, about how many different stresses I had! But once I accepted it, I was ready to move on and take all of these tasks on.

The past couple of days, I have tried the Five-minute Escape when I am feeling at the peak of my stress. I have never tried any kind of meditation technique, but have always been pretty interested in it. The first time I tried it, it didn't do too much for me, probably because I was with my roommate in my room. During the middle of the day when I was really stressed, I tried it alone in my room. I actually loved it!! I love how I am initially starting with breathing, getting my loose. Once I start rotating my shoulders, I am already starting to feel better. The best part is towards the end when I massage the top of my back. I'm not sure if I am going to use the Stress Diagram technique again, but the Five-minute Escape is something that I can use through college, and even in the future!!

Stress Management

This week we learned about stress management! This is a good thing for me to do because I am stressed out a lot! I let stress get to me and get very over whelmed with school.

Stress is something that you can't always control. Its hard to stop yourself from being stressed out if you have a lot of work. We can try to minimize the stress by doing things to avoid it. Although we may not be able to eliminate it, there are definitely different strategies to avoid some of it.

I chose to use the strategies STRESS DIAGRAM and A DAY AT A TIME. For STRESS DIAGRAM, I made a list of the different sources that cause me stress. I then made a chart of the different sources and separated them into sections with sizes that were based on how stressful the sources are for me.

I used this strategy for WRITING and CAS 100. I am a VISUAL LEARNER and this strategy was very helpful. I could see what was stressing me out and how much it was stressing me out.

I then used the strategy A DAY AT A TIME. I wrote down a list of five things that were stressing me out and the next day I checked off a few of them that weren't stressing me out anymore. I used this strategy for HUMAN SEXUALITY and CLS.

I will definitely use these strategies whenever I am stressed and want to know whats causing it!

The Art of Procrastinating

Anybody in college is familiar with procrastinating. Whether it is music, Facebook, sports, or video games, you are most likely to procrastinate. But there ARE ways to work around it.

Personally, I am a huge procrastinator. It is so simple to open the internet to my top sites, and just click Facebook. I find myself on it for a long periods of times, and then I get frustrated that I am not getting anything done!

Since I am a visual learner, seeing what I am doing wrong is almost a slap in the face, and makes me realize that I'm not making the right decisions when doing my work.

For my first strategy to evade procrastinating, I tried the Time Was

ter technique. You do so by separating your activities that waste your time, and than offer solutions to these. I found one of my best decisions was NOT bringing my Playstation to college. Also, I consciously knew that rewarding myself was a little immature, but it still gave me that extra push to f

inish what I am doing without procrastinating. I found this pretty useful.

After seeing that the 24 hour Technique was successful for Courtney and Layla, and we have similar problems with procrastination, I thought I would try these strategy myself. I had multiple readings for History that I have to get done in about a week or two, and I have my History class on Tuesday. I thought it would be a great idea to get started on this, and knock it out of my way since my homework load is currently not to heavy. I knew that I would be able to get this done, since it is only reading and not too many regular assignments. I would go to the library, not even bring my backpack, and only my two books for that class.

With Thanksgiving break coming up, I am confident that I will complete my readings, and Thanksgiving break will be much more stress free! This way, I can complete my other necessary tasks without the readings hanging over my shoulders.

HIS 101

Paper due Tues Nov 29

- Read Civil Disobedience

- Read Confessions of Nat Turner

- Read fredrick douglas and mary prince diaries

These is my homework for History class. I have those readings to do, and I will get them out my way, so that during Thanksgiving break, I can break my Paper up into pieces, and it needs to be only 3 pages long too!

Procrastinating

This weekend I procrastinated a lot!

My boyfriend came to visit and instead of doing this blog at the beginning of the weekend, I waited until Sunday. The blog

is due today and I have to do it the last day he's here.

Procrastination is a very common thing. Most if not all students procrastinate. Although most people end up doing their work, they push it off till last minute. This not only causes stress, but it also makes the work you have to do a lot more complicated!

I tend to procrastinate a lot. I go on Facebook daily, sit on my computer, talk on the phone, or video chat with people I love. I always try to think of something that I can do instead of doing my work.

For this blog, I tried the strategy TIME WASTERS. I filled out a chart for this strategy.

I made a list of things I do to waste time and a list of tasks I try to avoid. This helped me realize that almost everything I do to avoid my work is on the computer and if I hide my computer for the time I need to do my work, I can get everything done.

I then used the putting it all together chart in the procrastination section! I wrote about a class MATH I need to do work for. The task I need to do, the materials I need to complete the task, when I'm going to do everything and what strategies I'm going to use to complete it without procrastinating.

I found this chart really helpful. I planned everything out and got to see what I needed to do and when I was going to do it. I definitely want to use this chart again for my other tasks. I am a VISUAL LEARNING and its easier for me to see everything I need to do in front of me.

I lastly tried the 24 HOUR strategy for my WRITING and HUMAN SEXUALITY classes to stop myself from procrastinating. I wrote down what I need to do and when I'm going to do it. Giving myself 24 hours will motivate me because I know that I "have" to finish the task in 24 hours or else "I won't succeed." Giving myself a fake dead line will definitely help motivate myself to do all my work before its due. I won't have time to procrastinate! I will use these strategies a lot!

Procrastinat-....

Procrastination is something everyone is very familiar with at some point or another. There are definitely certain tasks that lead me to procrastinate over others and drag out a process I anticipated would be long and torturous anyway.

Because I am a visual learner, when working on a project for an art class I can spend 6 hours and not realize the time that has gone by. However, when I have to write a paper, it can take me just as long when I know I could have gotten it done in half of the time.

There are major Time Waster's that I always go back to when I am writing a paper. Initially, I'll go online. Facebook and Twitter are my biggest weaknesses but after that gets boring I end up calling my mom. She can talk for hours and its a perfect excuse to stay away from that blank page I know I'll have to fill eventually. The last thing I usually procrastinate with is organizing my room. I can convince myself that everything is dirty or out of place before I am able to sit down

and write.

In order to avoid these procrastination methods, I chose to experiment with the 24-Hour Rule. By creating a new deadline for anticipated essays it would psychologically force me to have these papers done a few days prior to when they are due. This way, I would write my essays due for the week first, and then be able to finish other work that is quicker or less pain-staking more efficiently without knowing that unwritten essay is there in the back of my head for me to accomplish.

The middle of my week gets extremely busy and sometimes I am overwhelmed with the work I have due. So, in order to fix this I made deadlines that were at the beginning and end of the week in order to have the middle of it free. My writing 105 presentation was not actually due until thursday but I knew that if I did not complete it the weekend before it would be gradually getting revised throughout the week and never fully done. My design history readings were due on Wednesday so by completing them a day ahead I was free to go to the studio tuesday night and work on a project instead of doing my readings. My Design history essay is also due november 16th, not the 11th. However, with only one class on Friday's, I have the entire day free. I knew I needed to spend it wisely so chose to get my essay done instead of lounging around for a few hours.

This technique worked really well for me and allowed me to plan my work around my schedule. I think I will definitely continue to use this when I see myself procrastinating or know that I specifically have a paper coming up.

Motivating Myself

This week, since our class is focusing on motivation, I used exploring rewards and academic fears to find out what motivates me. For anyone, getting themselves motivated is not easy. It is much more appeasing to stay in bed for a little longer, play some video games rather than do homework, or go out late at night... at least it is for me. So I used these strategies to help motivate myself to succeed.

Finding out what motivates me relays into any class that I participate in, though the two classes I found it most useful in were my hardest two, Philosophy 192 and Earth Science 105. Succeeding in these classes would lead to my ultimate goal, what motivates me most, which is getting into Whitman. If I am able to get into Whitman, I will be able to engage in the major that I want most, entrepreneurship. A no-cost reward I get from doing well on a test or essay, or even getting into Whitman would be pride, for my first, legitimate accomplishment in college.

My biggest fear, if I did not get into Whitman, would be disappointing myself, and not being able to pursue the major that I would want to. This would fall back to not succeeding in my classes, by not doing well on a test or essay. My biggest college fear is not getting into Whitman. Knowing what motivates me, I feel that I have a better chance at succeeding, and reaching my ultimate goal.

External Motives Internal Motives

-Making parents proud -Boost of confidence than I will be able to succeed

-Getting into Whitman -Gaining interest in what I want to do, rather than completing what I need to for the sake of it.

-Being able to pursue the major that

I want to

-Making $$$$$$

Motivation

While focusing on motivation this week, I had a lot to consider because I know that I am not only an extremely motivated person, but fear the consequences if I do not maintain my motivation.

As I am preparing for my major, which is Comm. Design next year, I know that this year is my opportunity to prove to myself that I belong in this major and I have the ability to pursue it. I have a personal drive to keep my confidence up and persist in doing my best.

When looking at Exploring Rewards and Academic Fears I considered my interior and exterior motives.

As I did Exploring Rewards I found that in my foundation studio classes such as 2D Processes and 3D Arts, I am motivated to succeed the most in order to prove to myself, my family, and friends that I can eventually build myself a satisfying career through this major.

A no-cost reward I find out of a achieving a good grade or completion of a project is the praise from my parents. They are both in the art field and their opinion is extremely important to me.

When I then looked at my Academic Fears, I listed my top three general fears. Failing an exam was number two on the list and brought me to realize these fears applied to some different courses because in project based classes I wouldn't be likely to fail a project, but in an art history class that is a possibility on an exam.

Considering my internal and external motivators allowed me to focus on what I really care about and how I will now achieve my long term goals.

Motivation!

This week we learned about motivation!

Motivation is the driving force that helps people achieve different goals.

Motivation is an interest

ing term because to everyone in means something

different. To me motivation could be knowing if I ace a test, I am going to treat myself to a large piece of chocolate cake. However, to someone else motivation could be knowing they are going to go to Mexico if they run a mile a day for a month straight. Everyone has different ways to get themselves going but as long as we do it, it doesn't matter how.

This week I tried the strategy ACADEMIC FEARS and EXPLORING REWARDS. I wrote down my biggest academic fears for my MATH class. This helped show me what my biggest fears were, what the worst possible outcomes were, and what the best were.

This motivated me because I was able to push myself to reach the best possible outcomes and see what I needed to do in order to get there.

I then tried the strategy EXPLORING REWARDS for CLS. This really motivated me because I wrote down something I could reward myself that costs nothing, something with a low cost and something thats expensive. I was able to show myself that if I do well on the tech assignments, I will get to see my boyfriend, my family, and my friends. This motivates me to work extra hard on these assignments because these people are very important to me. I was then able to push myself to work hard on the projects because I knew that if I did well on the proj

ects, I would treat myself to a nice meal. In addition, if I did well in CLS

overall, I would go a nice vacation!

This strategy definitely helped me motivate m

yself to do my work this weekend! I wrote down a separate list of things I would treat myself to if I did all my work and succeeded this week in all my courses!

- Insomnia cookies

- Go home this weekend

- Get my nails done

- Get my hair done

I will definitely use these strategies again when I am anxious about classes or want to push myself to succeed!

Ranking My Priorities

The strategy that I used this week is Ranking Priorities. I have done similar concepts before of creating a schedule, such as during the exam experiment when I was creating my schedule for the week, but I thought that I could maybe try it in a more organized fashion. I used it for my Earth Science class, and College Learning Strategies as well.

I used it for Earth Science because I knew I had a test coming up on Wednesday for this class, so I thought that it could help me ORGANIZE a bit, since that is the biggest task in college. Also, for College Learning Strategies, there's a couple of tasks that needed to get done, so that was a good idea as well.

Specifically, for Earth Science, I needed to study a couple days in advance for my test, and I have to study for other classes as well as writing an essay, so I thought according do the dates that ranking my priorities would be a good idea. For CLS, I knew that I needed to do my tech assignment, finish my exam experiment early so that I could maybe get some extra points added to it, and to skim chapter 7 and choose a mnemonic device I had never used & use it in another course.

I thought this was a good strategy considering that I am a visual learner, so seeing in front of my eyes what was most important for me to get done was a good idea.

I started by laying out everything that I needed to get done. I knew I needed to finish my exam experiment, hand it in early, do my tech assignment, skim chapter 7, use a mnemonic device, read an Earth Science chapter 12, and study for my test. I labeled them from A-> C as either essential, important, or optional. Then I more specifically grouped them with a number rank. After having my list, I attacked my tasks that I needed to get done. Studying my Earth Science study guide was just review after the other rankings, so that was only a B.

I did like this strategy a lot. It is simple, and takes not too much time to do. But it is efficient, and makes sure that you get done all of your tasks. If anyone who is a visual learner and likes to see what they need to get done right in front of their face, than I recommend this.

Earth Science 105

A-1 Finish reading Chapter 12 (so I know all the information on the test

A-2 Go to Office hours for Lucia (tuesday)

A-3 Create study guide for the test after I know all the information

B-1 Study the study guide

College Learning Strategies 105

A-1 Tech Assignment

B-1 Exam Experiment

B-2 Hand in Exam Experiment

B-3 Create mnemonic device

B-4 Skip chapter 7

Plug-in notes revised

This week I created an adaptation to PLUG-IN notes.

For my Design History essay exam that is approaching, I used plug-in notes as a study method as well as a note taking guide to understand the key concepts our professor is

looking to test us on.

Because my notes in class must be very straight forward and I know that I have no time to make

guides or organizers within the class, I only have time to write out the facts she tells us in lecture as simply as possible.

This is an example of the notes I take in class.

After class, I took the main ideas of each category given on our slide sheets to create a small list of the most important ideas my professor would want us to incorporate into our essays. This is a great visual for me because I can see the division between countries and compare how they differed in order to memorize the images with ease. I also included the test question that is repeatedly asked when we are shown a slide randomly chosen from the multiple slide sheets we are given. The question asks, "Why is this important to the History of Modern Design?". So, when writing out the main ideas I have this question in the back of my head to understand how I can relate each bullet to correlate to the question.

Instead of making a graphic organizer in my notes as plug-in notes describes, I use flash cards to study so I thought I could also use the flash cards to incorporate them into this study strategy. The image on the flash cards are my adaptation of a graphic organizer because on this essay exam we will be shown one image and asked to write about it by answering the test question.

For me, this is a great way to help me study and has been working so far. By understanding the main concepts and ideas I know that I will be able to succeed on this test and hold an understanding of what each style is a truly about. Instead of writing out test questions, I practice the flash cards and quiz myself on why each style is important to the history of modern design.

T-NOTES

This week we were allowed to chose our own strategy to blog about!

While I was looking through the book at ALL the different strategies,

I tried to consider ALL of the different assignments I have next week. I saw that I have a Hebrew midterm on Thursday and I needed to take notes in class that were going to help me study. I also saw that I have a presentation to do for my Writing class. I needed to take notes on reading and teach a class with a group of people.

I decided to try the T-NOTES strategy. In this strategy, I separated a piece of paper into two columns. One column titled formulas and one titled solutions. I then wrote notes next to the important words and starred them so that I know exactly where to look for important things when I go to study!

I tried the strategy for hebrew first. I wrote down different words I need to know under formulas and then under the solutions I wrote the words in plural. I need to know how to change a word to its plural for the test so this is an easy way for me to review.

I liked this strategy for hebrew because I am a visual learner and was able to see the word in singular and the word in plural next to each other. I was able to cover the formulas and test myself with the solutions and cover the solutions and test myself with the formulas. In addition, the stars helped me know exactly where to look for the words I needed to study the most.

I then tried the same strategy for my writing class. For my writing class, I don't have a test. Instead I have a presentation so I went about using the strategy in a different way. I used the strategy as under formulas what questions I can present or ask the class. And under solutions I wrote the answers or information I want to share with class from the reading. I also wrote different ideas under formulas that I want to share with the class. I found using T-NOTES very helpful because I will be able to see everything in front of me when I am presenting to the class.

I liked this strategy so much that I tried to do it for my math class. I decided to separate the material with lines in between so that I could read everything easier!

I decided that next time I do this strategy I'm going to use different colors so that words stand out to me! I know that each time I do it I am going to add changes to make it work better for me. I will definitely use this strategy again!

TART and Charlie Reads SmarT for Design History

This week I used TART and Charlie Reads SmarT for my reading assignments by Henry Ford titled, "Machinery, The New Messiah" in Design History. The assignments are more conceptual than definitive so I looked for repetitive words and phrases used in the readings to look over, define, and clarify.

When using TART, I took notes on the reading to summarize the argument and find interesting points. After rereading my notes, I then highlighted the key terms and ideas that I took from the reading. Many of these terms were repeated several times and indicated that they were significant to the idea behind the assignment. As a visual learner, I also used different colors to visually separate the information.

I also went back to my slide sheet handed out in class last week and am now able to predetermine how Fordism and The American System will be analyzed in class.Although we have not gone over this reading yet in lecture, I have these key terms highlighted and know that in class on Monday we will be looking towards the health and ways of new machinery in Fordism not only from this assigned reading, but also the syllabus stating

what our topics are for the following class.

By predetermining this information, I can find the ideas my professor will be looking for in our essay exam and create test questions using the key terms and ideas. On the back of my notes sheet I rewrote these and will be able to

conveniently

refer to them when I am making flash cards and study guides for my test.

When using Charlie Reads SmarT, my reading was very short so I was able to combine the steps to chunk the reading and summarize the key points. In order to chuck this reading, I created a title for each couple of paragraphs. The ideas of how these paragraphs relate to each other is visually incorporated as well. It was clear to see the ideas that Henry Ford voices his opinion about and the bullets show a visual summary of Ford's beliefs that we will be analyzing.

My next step was to relate back to the syllabus and slide sheets provided by my professor. I noticed that on the slide sheet, we will be looking at several slides from the Henry Ford Museum and focusing on "Fordism". Henry Ford's ideas will definitely be an idea I will see on my essay exam that is quickly approaching.

By dividing the reading into these ideas, I can determine the facts I will need to reiterate on my test by referring back to problems in the home, the food industry, personal health, and the American industry.

Overall, these two strategies were helpful in breaking down this reading and allowing me to comprehend the information I am taking in. I also am able to grasp his views on the american industry and relate them to any other designer we will be covering in class. Because the reading was short, I know that these strategies would also work better with a longer more intensive reading assignment.

Charlie... Reads... SmarT...

I used a strategy for something I never would have thought I would have used one for... READING. There are ways to organize your readings, break it up into pieces, so not only is it not going through one ear and out the other, you retain the information. The strategy I tried this week was Charlie Reads SmarT:

The courses I used Charlie Reads SmarT for was History 101 and Earth Science 105. This strategy helps organize your readings so you learn all of the information that you read. History 101 has a lot of external reading that it not direct information from a textbook. So it is difficult to grasp all of the information that I obtain. With this strategy, I can figure out how much I can really read without needing to get up or go on Facebook, and than chunk my readings into pieces. After that, I figure out the information that I am reading. Once I read it, I highlight and than summarize the information that I read. I decided to create on outline, since my chapter was about different characters and than was a good way to organize. After I do all this, I test myself on what I have learned with a couple of questions.

I am an AURAL learner, so reading is tough for me. This strategy is not aural, but helps me towards my other strength of learning through writing rather than reading.

Overall, I have quite mixed feelings about this strategy. I tried it for these courses, but I am not sure if I am going to use it again. I helped a little bit, but it takes way too much time to read merely a chapter, and knowing myself, I will not do all of this. Highlighting key information in the chapter is enough to help me. I can even read it a second time if I really need to. A lot of this strategy is repetitive to the other strategies such as 20 minute test prep, where you are just testing yourself on the information you are learning. If reading is a major weakness for someone, this may help you. But if you are like me and highlighting and some minor notes help you for your reading, than that may be enough.

TART

Terms

Attend

Read

Test

I decided to try the TART reading strategy. I wanted to try it because I have a difficult time with reading material and fully understanding what it is I just read. I needed a new way to read something, take notes, and study what I read!

I tried this reading strategy in two courses. I tried it in my Math 121 and Hebrew 101. I tried it in these courses because they both require knowing a lot of definitions and terms. Math 121 isn't a lot of reading, its more problem solving but Hebrew 101 is. I wanted to try this strategy in a class that required reading comprehensively (Hebrew) and a class that required reading/ skim or scan the pages (Math).

In Math 121, I generally do not read the textbook before class. I normally go into class having no idea what I'm going to learn about. I take a lot of notes in class and then don't review them again until the day before a test. My notes generally look like this and are very unorganized.

After I tried the TART strategy, my notes looked more like this.

I wrote down the definitions- abbreviations. I then went to class and reread my lecture notes. After that I read the chapter to make sure I understood the material and created test questions. This helped me a lot because I am a visual learner. I was able to see the terms I'm going to need to know for my test before I went to class, take more notes in class and understand the reading in the textbook after class. I was then able to test myself with the test questions I made up having all these terms in front of my eyes.

I did the same thing for Hebrew 101.

Notes Before Notes After

Test Questions

The strategy worked better for my math class because I could write down the terms, create abbreviations, read the textbook to understand everything and create test questions easily. I had to make substitutions when I did it for my hebrew class. I couldn't make any abbreviations for hebrew words and so instead I wrote sentences next to some of the terms so that I would understand the words better and it would help me remember the words when I answered the test questions I created. I think this strategy is better for a class that you don't have to read comprehensively in because you don't have to write as detailed notes as you would if you needed to read extremely cautiously. I would definitely recommend this strategy to someone who needs help with taking notes and understanding reading material for class!

ONE PLUS THREE NOTES

I decided I needed a new way to take notes. I was taking notes in class and continuously throwing them out! My notes weren't helping me at all. The notes I actually had, I would try to review them before a test and had absolutely no idea what I had written down!

In class, Dr. Blumin introduced us to a new note taking strategy- ONE PLUS THREE NOTES. This strategy looked like a good one for me to try. This is because I am a visual learner and if I have everything laid out in front of me, I will be able to study more efficiently. I was going to be able to take the same kind of notes as I did before hand and then add to them!

On one piece of paper, I took notes. I took them neatly with bullet points and titles, this way I would understand what I was reading when I went to study them. I then right after class, reviewed my notes and on the sheet of paper next to it, made a review sheet. I split up the review sheet into three sections: key terms/concepts, graphic organizer, and test questions.

When I went to study for my human sexuality final, these notes really helped me. I knew exactly what key terms and concepts to study and then looked at my notes on the page next to it for the information. I was then able to test myself with the test questions I wrote down. This strategy helped a lot and I will definitely use it again!

1 Plus 3 study notes for an essay style test

As Jacob illustrated in his blog about Plug in notes that visuals clearly helped him with his note taking this week, I also used a visual guide when using the 1 Plus 3 strategy. For my Design History class we have very limited time to record as much as we can about each powerpoint slide before our professor moves on to the next. This crunch for time does not allow for me to attempt plug in notes so after I completed my notes for this class I went back and did a 1 Plus 3 chart on a separate page.

Although our tests are essay style and ask the same question for us to expand on, the major point our professor wants us to comprehend are the BIG idea's and concepts of each time period. Zooming in on the American Arts and Crafts Movement, this strategy helped me to learn a lot about not only one designer in particular, but the movement as a whole. The set up for this strategy definitely helped me to get a good understanding on one topic I know I will be tested on. One negative I found when using 1 plus 3, however, was that it was somewhat redundant. I found myself re-writing the same ideas and words multiple times. If I decide to try this strategy again I will probably try to include a larger amount of information to avoid this problem.